Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are among the most common mental disorders among children. ADHD also often continues into adolescence and adulthood.
ADD and ADHD are diagnoses applied to children and adults who consistently display certain characteristic behaviors over a period of time. The most common behaviors include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
Inattentive behavior is often characterized by difficulty focusing on one task and persisting until completion, a failure to pay attention to details, and making careless mistakes in a variety of tasks. Individuals exhibiting inattentive behavior may appear as if their minds are elsewhere or they are not listening or did not hear what has just been said.
Hyperactive people always seem to be in motion and may suffer from feelings of restlessness and difficulty engaging in sedentary activities. Common signs of hyperactivity include excessive unproductive movement, such as fidgeting with hands or feet, excessive talking, and an inability to sit still. Hyperactive children often squirm in their seats, roam around the room, and feel compelled to touch everything.
Impatience and a failure to think before acting often characterize impulsivity. Impulsive young children may frequently interrupt others, fail to listen to directions, and have difficulty waiting their turn.
Scientists have not yet identified a single underlying cause behind these behavior characteristics. While some have been linked to decreased brain activity, the biological reason for the decreased brain activity is still unknown. Treatment for ADD and ADHD is therefore limited to treating the symptoms of the disorders.
The most common treatment for ADD and ADHD is the use of mild central nervous system stimulant drugs, such as Ritalin, Cylert, and Dexedrine. However, there are several drawbacks to using these drugs. Frequent short-term side effects include loss of appetite, insomnia, headaches, stomachaches, drowsiness, hyperactivity, blood pressure and pulse changes, and cardiac arrhythmia. In addition, little is known about the possible consequences of long-term exposure to these drugs in children. The use of Ritalin in children under six years of age is particularly undesirable since safety and efficacy in this age group has not been established.
As an alternative to the aforementioned conventional treatments, U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,178 discloses a method of treating ADHD utilizing proanthocyanidin. The method comprises taking a quantity of proanthocyanidin sufficient to relieve symptoms of ADHD every approximately 3.5 to 4.0 hours. A heterocyclic antidepressant may be taken with the proanthocyanidin to relieve symptoms of "spaciness" or lack of cognitive focus. However, a major drawback of this method is that repeated doses are required to alleviate symptoms throughout the day. Requiring repeated doses may be inconvenient as well as embarrassing, especially for school-aged children.